20181011press release.pdf

Case No. AVU-E-18-10 and AVU-G-18-06
Contact: Matt Evans
Office: [phone]
Cell: [phone]
[e-mail]
Comment deadline set for Avista proposal
BOISE (Oct. 11, 2018) – State regulators are accepting comments on an Avista Utilities
proposal to develop performance standards for its Idaho customers.
Customer service and electric system reliability would be the focus of the Idaho Service
Quality Program (ISQ).
Rates would not be affected by the creation of the program, which dates to a 2017 decision
by the Idaho Public Utilities Commission in a general rate case.
That decision called for the utility to work with interested parties to develop performance
standards and customer guarantees similar to those in place for Avista’s customers in
Washington.
Since implementation of the ISQ requires revisions to the company’s electric and natural
gas tariffs, Commission approval is required.
Avista has asked for a decision by Nov. 1. The Commission is accepting comments on the
proposal through Oct. 19.
The proposal calls for the utility to track and report its annual performance in meeting
benchmarks established for 13 electric measures and 9 natural gas measures.
These measures fall into three categories - customer service, electric system reliability and
customer guarantees.
Among them are benchmarks for customer satisfaction based on a quarterly survey;
response time for outages, electric system emergencies, connections of service and billing
inquiries; and timely completion of investigations related to problems reported by
customers.
Under the proposal, Avista would track and report the results of the ISQ to the Commission
via a report filed on or before April 30 each year.
In addition, the company would send a Service Quality Report Card to its customers within
90 days of filing the annual report, with results on customer service performance and
electric system reliability, and performance highlights for the year.
The company agreed to develop the ISQ as part of a settlement agreement approved by the
Commission in a general rate case in 2017. Parties involved in the rate case included
Commission staff, Clearwater Paper Corporation, Idaho Forest Group, Idaho Conservation
League, Sierra Club and Community Action Partnership Association of Idaho.
Avista’s proposal calls for the 2018 calendar year to be the initial reporting period, with the
first annual report filed on or before April 30, 2019.
Avista provides electric service to approximately 129,000 customers in north Idaho, and it
provides natural gas service to approximately 83,000 northern Idahoans.
The Commission is accepting comments on this case through Oct. 19. Go here to submit a
comment electronically. Or go to the Commission’s web site, www.puc.idaho.gov and click
on “Case Comment Form” under the “Electric” or “Natural Gas” heading.
Comments can also be submitted via fax to [phone] or by mail to P.O. Box 83720,
Boise, ID 83720-0074. Please be sure to include at least one of the case numbers, AVU-E-
18-10 or AVU-G-18-06.
All documents related to this case, including Avista’s application, are available here. Or go
to the Commission’s web site, www.puc.idaho.gov, click on “Open Cases” under the
“Electric” heading and scroll down to case number AVU-E-18-10, or AVU-G-18-06 under the
“Natural Gas” heading.